I really need help, thank you! Fuqua v.s. Anderson($$) v.s. Tepper($)

Question

Thank you for reading the long post and I would really appreciate if you can share your perspective on this. I had a hard time making final decision.
I am lucky to have the chance to select between Fuqua, Anderson w/50K, & Tepper w/30K. With the comparison below, I think I will narrow down to Fuqua or Anderson.
Career: My career goal is to get in to Entertainment or Managing Consulting. However, as an international student, consulting might be a better focus since I heard that most media company don’t sponsor Visa.
Location: I have no preference in location post MBA as long as it’s a big city, such as NYC, LA, or DC, etc.
Cost: Financial circumstance is an important factor for me since I have to take on debts to fund my own MBA.
Culture: I love the energy and NCAA tradition in both schools, and alumni are all very friendly and open minded to me.

Before Pros & Cons, below are the school comparisons in my mind:
City Life: Anderson > Tepper > Fuqua
Consulting: Fuqua > Tepper > Anderson
Entertainment*: Anderson > Fuqua = Tepper
Ranking: Fuqua > Anderson > Tepper
Tuition Cost: Anderson(130K-50K) > Tepper(140K-30K) > Fuqua(140K)
Living Cost: Fuqua = Tepper > Anderson
Alumni Network: Fuqua = Anderson > Tepper

Anderson
(+) Scholarship
(+) Entertainment Focus, Disney recruits there (10-14/year), but I am an international Student
(+) Already knew a lot of Alumni
(+) LA is more interesting (Pro-sports, Hollywood)
(+) NCAA
(-) MBB from here is probably unlikely (20% to consulting overall)
 BCG 10-14, McK 10-14, Deloitte >20
(-) Ranked lower (15 or 16 generally)
(-) Higher living cost

Fuqua
(+) More prestigious (ranked 10-12 generally)
(+) Better consulting outcomes (31%)
 BCG 22, McK 19, Bain 8, Deloitte 32
(+) Living Cost seems to be lower (?)
(+) Already knew a lot of Alumni
(+) NCAA
(-) Durham wasn't that appealing
(-) Would take on more debt if they didn’t reconsider my scholarship

Regenerate · Answer

Good analysis.

This might help you -> https://gmatclub.com/forum/financial-ai ... 42190.html

There's also a link within the top post in that thread that links to GMATClub's Ranking of the top 40 full time programs in the US.

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Wchen186 · Answer

Thank you!
I read this before, and that is what makes it a tough call for me right now, cuz the amount granted by Anderson is just around 40%. Though I already requested scholarship reconsideration to Fuqua.

Regenerate · Answer

"If you don't ask, the answer is 'no'."

Good for you!

PS - While both schools are wonderful programs, both are also slightly regional in their placements. Your final decision will PROBABLY affect the part of the country you eventually settle in.

Wchen186 · Answer

Thanks again.
I have talked to lots of alum from both school.
I think right now I am more towards Fuqua.
But it’s just hard to give up 50K + 10K lower tuition.

bb · Answer

Awesome job on your admits! And thank you for filling out the decision tracker!!! There are positions in the entertainment industry that do sponsor. I know Fox, Disney, Universal Music, and a few others did in LA. This is a bit dated information so maybe it has changed? I imagine the biggest Entertainment company - Amazon does as well as Netflix. There are also off-shoots such as EA, and the rest of the gaming industry. However, entertainment jobs are hard to break into. It is very competitive as so many people are passionate about it and so many wish to be a part of it. Who would not want to be paid to play computer games?

One aspect to consider is where you have best/better chances of succeeding. Consulting jobs are limited for the international applicants as not all firms sponsor and competition is also high (not as high as entertainment though). Fuqua would give you the best chance at Consulting. Do you have the personality and resilience for it? I know sometimes the Asian cultures make people reserved and easily annoyed with the western showmanship. Are you an outgoing person and someone who can face the customer/client on their own and run a PPT? My guess is probably since you have the entertainment focus but just something to point out what is considered important in consulting recruiting (higher end at least). The important thing is to have something catchy on your resume. Often you will submit a resume for a consulting or an entertainment position. They won't have the time to interview all 200 people who applied, so how would they shortlist you? Do you have something that would catch their eye? For either consulting or entertainment (you don't have to tell me but these are the questions you should be going through in your mind - why would they pick me? and working in this area if needed) As to your analysis - it is spot on but to slightly tweak your matrix, the cost of living in LA will be the highest of all (I think you have the sign opposite). You will most likely have to get a car so you are not stuck on campus and ubering everywhere. Not right away but eventually. Just FYI - this also adds to the cost. As to the decision, between the Anderson + scholarship vs. Fuqua, it is a tight call. Do you have a network in any of the locations? LA or NC? Friends, family, etc you can rely on?

variantguy · Answer

Hello Wchen186 Congratulations on being in a position to be choosing from multiple prestigious admit offers! Fantastic job! I voted for Fuqua. The $50k that you'll save in tuition money at Anderson will be offset to an extent by the higher cost of living, car ownership, and living the #LAlife

And if you were to bag an MBB job by going to Fuqua, you'd probably get a ~$30k signing bonus.

So, while it might seem hard to let go of the money at Anderson, stretching the horizon of your decision making will put things in perspective more accurately. For consulting goals, and specifically MBB, Fuqua is the best of the three options. bb has already added a lot of nuance to how you should be thinking about this decision. Is getting into the entertainment industry a "serious Plan A2" or an "okay if it works or not Plan B"? If it's the former, you may want to think about going to Anderson - in which case you would be trading potential MBB recruiting opportunities for potential entertainment recruitment opportunities. If it's the latter, Fuqua makes more sense. It's the classic "if you 100 bucks" problem. Also, bb made a fantastic point about the evolution of new-age entertainment companies, most of which are tech companies in disguise, and hence might be more willing to hire internationals. You would have to do some research and talk to people to see if these hypotheses hold. Good luck with your decision making!

bb · Answer

Wchen186 , also consider this post by regnerate: https://gmatclub.com/forum/financial-ai ... 42190.html

bb · Answer

Wchen186 , I just fact-checked myself and checked the H1B approvals for Media companies in 2020 and 2019 and they are indeed very meager and scant. I do know a person who worked for Universal Music on H1B and one who worked for Fox in LA but I guess that's dated information. Sorry about that. I guess you are right. I was checking here: https://www.uscis.gov/tools/reports-and ... r-data-hub So that means the Entertainment route is not really H1B friendly... and I am not sure how much they can argue that you will be using your STEM designation in the job. Granted that Biden administration should relax some of the rules and labor restricitons but I would not count on it since it is unknown....

Wchen186 · Answer

Thanks BB for all three posts you share, that are all very great information.
That is why I think consulting is a more realistic way (though it’s still tough as you mentioned), maybe break into Entertainment later in my career is a more possible path. 
I do have some connections in LA, but they are not able to help me with either consulting or Entertainment cuz they are just my family friends who not even familiar with the MBA community. As a result, I think my decision would still base on the career resources of the school.

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Wchen186 · Answer

Thank you for the response. I think break into entertainment from tech company is a new concept that I had not give it a serious consideration. But I will go do some research on that.
I think your post just make me reflect on my career options again. And I think now I can talk with Alum on topics that’s more about how school resources help them land a job in consulting or tech. Which I think both schools are great in tech and Fuqua has a slightly advantage in consulting. But I am not sure whether it’s a self-select result or not.

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bb · Answer

If consulting is your goal, and you can make Fuqua work, it is the program to go to.

As to your family/friends in LA, it is helpful to have at least someone for catastrophic reasons and just to have someone to help with basic things (drivers license, etc). These are absolutely not critical things by the way and people have accomplished them on their own, just nice to have some safety net (one small pro for Anderson).

Frankly, with total cost of living (not even factoring opportunity cost), you are spending $200K on Fuqua vs. $150K on Anderson. So your loan payment will be $2,200 vs $1,660 with a 10-year loan at 6%. That's the implication of your decision.

1/2 of the cost of Tesla Model X or Porche 911 (though don't quote me as I drive a mini-van, which is around 50K when you take tax and such)

variantguy · Answer

Glad I could be of help! I was in a somewhat similar position last year, choosing between Anderson and Ross.  You can read my post here  for more insights into how I went about doing the specific research that you are now planning to do. Cheers!

Wchen186 · Answer

bb  That is true, safety net can really be a small pro here.
 variantguy  Thanks a lot again. Your post is really a great resource for me.

Wchen186 · Answer

I just want to update this thread so this can be helpful for someone who may be in the same situation as me in the future.

I keep connecting with alum and current students at all schools and then send an update form to Fuqua. In the form, I listed why I am eligible for reconsideration, such as arranging coffee chat for applicants, connecting with Team Fuqua, and schedule a talk with admission committee. I end up receiving 20k from Fuqua after 3 months of effort.

My decision is probably going to be Fuqua cause I think the living cost is going to justify the 30k difference in scholarship. Without 20k from Fuqua, I am definitely going to Anderson cause there is just not much difference going to either school as international student unless you’re determined to stay in health care. (Even Fuqua alum told me to take the money offered by Anderson.)

Thank you all for helping me make the decision. Good luck to you all!

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variantguy · Answer

Great job renegotiating money at Duke! Just goes on to be another data point that schools are willing to reneg. If you don't mind me asking, is the $20k per year or total?

Good luck with your studies at Fuqua!

Wchen186 · Answer

Hi  variantguy 
20K in total.
Still 30K short from Anderson's offer. (40K if you include the difference in tuition fee)
I think the difference in cost of living for me would be around 24-28K/ 2YRS. I'll take the extra 12K as Brand name/Ranking premium, haha.
There is also career aspect consideration in my final analysis.
After talking with current students from both schools, I think entertainment is not a possible path for my short-term goal. I would focus on either Tech or Consulting, and Fuqua has great recruiting record in both industry while Anderson is more focused in Tech.

bb · Answer

Sorry about the entertainment path and a dead end there. It is tricky and a very long path with absolutely no guarantee it will work out. 
Congrats on the $20K from Fuqua! That's awesome!